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BAGHDAD, July 19 (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Wednesday, the military said on Thursday.

The attack on their patrol happened in the east of the capital, the military said in a statement.

U.S. commanders have launched a major security clampdown in and around the capital targeting militants and have warned that casualties could rise as troops fan out into riskier neighbourhoods.

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, a total of 3,626 U.S. military personnel have been killed, including 47 so far this month. The previous three months was the bloodiest quarter for American forces since the start of the war.

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